1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia service system and more particularly, to a user history based multimedia service system for providing user-oriented multimedia service, and a method for incorporating user history data for the history based multimedia service.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as various attempts to provide user-oriented multimedia services are actively made in multimedia service systems, various techniques of observing the user's multimedia consumption pattern and reflecting user preferences on the multimedia service.
Also, as the digital broadcasts have been started, additional functions using the user preferences have been introduced as a very important factor.
For instance, in providing a help function to users, is a technique of providing a user interface suitable for each user using a usage history describing what items the user mainly searches in ordinary circumstances.
According to this technique, if a portion of the multimedia has a low level as compared to a tree structure, but it is frequently searched by the user, its level is adjusted to be a higher level, and thus it shortens a path for searching the desired portion.
As another conventional technique, there is a method of defining a user function. This technique provides a user-oriented interface by setting functions of respective buttons to those desired by the user when a graphic user interface is used.
Still another conventional technique proposes a multimedia search and display method, which extracts user preferences using the user history information of the multimedia content consumption, and reflects this user preference information on the multimedia search and display.
For instance, a user's display operation such as ‘replay’, ‘fast forward’, etc., has been recorded, and the user preference scores are described for each segment of the multimedia content. This user preference information is then reflected on the multimedia display to provide an intelligent display function.
This method enables the display control operation reflecting the user preference by considering a section where the ‘replay’ operation frequently occurs as a more important segment and displaying the section more slowly when searching the section.
Still another conventional technique records a “device information” such as user's preferred channel and sound level (i.e., volume) for each channel and so on, and provides a viewing environment suitable for the user using the recorded preferred channel and sound level information.
Still another conventional technique proposes a method that does not transfer massive program guides as they are, but provides the program guides based on the user preferred program genre.
The user preference for such a program genre is determined by recording the user's ordinary viewing content and extracting a user's habit therefrom.
Still another conventional technique proposes a system for automatically selecting a user preferred program using a user's multimedia viewing history, and recording the selected program.
This kind of user-oriented service has already been commercialized by ‘Tivo’ in the United States.
Recently, a smart card has been introduced to provide more user-oriented service, other than server-oriented or device oriented condition.
For example, a method for recording the user preference information in a smart card, and consistently providing the user dependent service without being affected by the server or device has been proposed.
In the meantime, most of the useful functions as described above are performed based upon the history record of the user's consumption of the multimedia a content.
That is, the preference information is extracted by checking the user's multimedia content consumption and recording the pattern or habit of the user by a numerical value.
In case of recording the user's consumption pattern by the numerical value as described above, whole history from a time point when the user started the consumption through the present should be reflected.
However, expressing the user history by only a specified numeral value has limitations in reflecting the user history for a certain period of recent.
Also, under certain circumstances, a sequential history itself may be used. In this case, there is a problem that a series of records for the sequential consumption should be preserved in the form of a list.
This method is the same as that of a history used in the existing Internet browser such as ‘Netscape’ and so on.
The history of the ‘Netscape’ can preserve its record by arranging addresses of the consumed multimedia contents, i.e., documents.
However, it is desirable that the history information for the above-described purpose should describe additional feature information such as metadata of the consumed multimedia content as well as positional information of the multimedia content.
For example, in case of the record using a moving picture, not only the position and title of the corresponding moving picture but also various feature information of the moving picture such as a genre, actor/actress, director, etc., should be described to extract the user preference information by reflecting such information.
In order to describe all the information as described above in the history list, however, the waste of space becomes severe due to the duplicated information, and thus it is difficult to manage such information in a storage medium of a limited-capacity such as the smart card.
Also, as the amount of content to be once recorded becomes larger, the content accessing speed becomes lower.
Accordingly, in the next-generation multimedia-related applications where the feature information such as the metadata other than the content is considered as important factors, more effective content structure and its management method are required to effectively manage such feature information as the history data.
In the meantime, in order to provide the effective user-oriented service as described above, the history should include all the metadata, user's consumption pattern, etc., or should be easily accessed to the storage medium.
Also, as the protection of the intellectual property right of the content is regarded as an important issue, a technique that can keep the predetermined method and number of consumption is required when respective multimedia contents are provided.
The conventional techniques are dependent upon the multimedia content when the multimedia service is performed based on the user history and/or user preference.
For example, they provide the service in a manner that in case of the moving picture service, they obtain weighted values of the user preferred genre, director, actor/actress, program, etc. of the content as the preference information, and reflect the preference information on the next moving picture service, so that the search of the user preferred genre, director, actor/actress, program, etc. can be easily performed when the moving picture is searched. This is just the preference information dependent upon only the attribute of the multimedia content itself.
However, it is doubtful that only the multimedia-content-dependent elements are to be considered when the user receives the above-described multimedia service. That is because every user has a different consumption pattern or habit as a natural person, and a different consumption type even with respect to the same multimedia service.
For instance, assuming that a user views a movie using an on-line multimedia service, the conventional technique merely establishes the history information dependent upon the multimedia content, for example, of which genre the movie is, who the director is, who appear as actors/actresses, etc.
However, the user may simply view the multimedia content (i.e., the movie), record (backup) the content in a storage medium such as a video tape, or transfer the content to another place using a network. This is subject to the consumption type, i.e., how the user consumes the provided multimedia content, and is not dependent upon the attribute of the multimedia content at all, but is just dependent upon the user's human nature.
Also, the user may change his/her behavior in accessing/viewing the content such as a slowed view of a concerned portion, skimmed view or skipped view of an unconcerned portion, etc. This is subject to the consumption behavior, i.e., on what behavior the user consumes the provided multimedia content, and is not dependent upon the attribute of the multimedia content at all, but is just dependent upon the user's human nature.
However, according to the conventional multimedia content service techniques based on the user history, the history information is established only for the elements dependent upon the multimedia content without considering above described points.